Not So Yu-Gi-Oh
by Dark Angel Bakura
Summary: Before meeting Yuugi and friends, Ryou Bakura had a life in another city. But that all changed when his dad gave him a mysterious amulet. Ryou quickly finds that the amulet holds an ancient spirit with no memory of who he is, where he's from, or why he's there. Ryou promises to help the Spirit discover himself, but learns that might not have been the best choice. ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

**A/N: This little plot bunny nibbled my brain as I was wondering if Bakura had his memories erased, just like the pharaoh's and if Ryou's knowledge of his Yami's good side is why he kept foolishly trusting him. So, enjoy!**

Zorc Necrophades was a sore loser. Lukcily, he didn't lose often.

This was not one of those times.

He had seconds left in this dimension. The Pharaoh's soul had already left, he had no idea where. With the last of his strength, he sealed his own soul into the nearest Millennium Item, the Ring, still wrapped around the neck of the dead "Thief King". There was an incredible darkness, and then…nothing.


	2. Chapter 1

"I'm not saying that you're cheating, I'm just saying that you're suspiciously lucky." Ryou Bakura said, leaning on the edge of the table, looking down at his white mage figurine who hadn't managed to clear a landslide in time.

The game master, Gakuyuu grinned. "You're just angry that you got caught in that trap like an amateur!" The two other players laughed, and Ryou gave a small smile. He was about to reply when his watch started beeping.

He swore. "Sorry. I gotta go. My dad said he would be calling me soon."

Ayumu nodded. "My mom's waiting outside, so we could give you a ride home. She's sounding impatient to leave anyway."

"Is that why that car's been sounding its horn for the past fifteen minutes?" Kaito asked. "It's been really annoying."

Ayumu shrugged. "Which would you rather do? Tabletop games or homework? I prefer to take life easy, and doing homework is not my idea of easy."

"Well, when you end up as a hobo in the streets, you can crash in my mansion a few times. Just make sure you shower first." Kaito sniffed before cracking into a smile.

Ryou laughed, gathering his backpack and slipping his figurine in the side pocket. "Thanks for the offer, Ayumu, but I wouldn't want to be a bother! I hope you guys don't mind if I skip up on cleanup? I promise I'll do it all by myself next week!" Ryou called as he hurried out the door.

As he passed a car parked on the side of the road, the window rolled down and a middle-aged woman called out his name. "Where is Ayumu? He promised he'd be down here half an hour ago!" Ryou called back a reply as he ran across the street and a few blocks north towards his apartment complex.

As he threw open the doors to the lobby, the secretary glanced up. "Oh, hey Ryou. There's a package for you." He said, handing Ryou a medium-sized box with a return address from Egypt. Ryou's eyes lit up and he broke into a wide smile, running off to his apartment.

He set the box down on the counter, scrounging through the dishwasher for a knife to open it. When he finally cracked open the package, he saw a shimmer of something gold underneath a pile of packing peanuts. He grabbed it, hefting it out and shaking it free of a few static-y peanuts.

It was an amulet of some kind, about 18 centimeters across; a inscribed triangle with five tassels hanging off the bottom at regular intervals. He marveled at it. His dad always sent him little souvenirs, gifts from bazaars and open air markets around his excavation sites, but this was something else entirely. The way it twinkled in the light, the unusual shape, its air of mystery, Ryou couldn't place it, but it was one of the most beautiful things he had seen in his life.

He tore his eyes away from the amulet to search the package for a letter of some sort, explaining what this was. His fingers found a piece of paper at the bottom of the box, and he pulled it out.

The letter was short and to the point.

"Dear Ryou,

I know this is a bit early, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, and I could not wait to give this to you. I found it while I was shopping around. The man who sold it to me claimed that it was over 3000 years old and that it was tied to that new Duel Monsters craze that's going on (one of these things is obviously a lie to get me to buy it, but it was worth it!). I knew that you would love it, and the price was so reasonable, I couldn't believe it! I checked it out, and it is more that three millennia old, and made of real gold! I know it is an… unusual… birthday gift for a teenage boy, but I'm sure you're as fascinated by it as I was!

With all my love,

Daddy"

Ryou smiled and slid the leather cord around his neck. The amulet felt surprisingly light around his neck, considering it was pure gold. He vaguely wondered if he should really be wearing real gold around his neck for just anyone to steal, but now that he put it on, he didn't feel like taking it off again.

He brushed the bottom tassel. So this amulet had something to do with Duel Monsters? Maybe there's a card about it? Curiosity taking hold, he rushed into his game room and pulled his pile of Duel Monsters cards from his top shelf. He went through every card, wondering what the connection was between this odd ring-thing and this card game. Even though his dad wasn't convinced that they had anything in common, Ryou felt oddly sure that they did.

After going through his entire collection of Duel Monsters cards twice, Ryou couldn't find anything. Maybe he needed more cards? He only had about sixty, barely enough to make a deck with a few backup strategies. He glanced at the clock. His dad would call soon. Maybe after the call, Ryou could run out to a few close-by game shops and pick up some more card packs.

The ringing phone snapped Ryou out of his musings. He leapt for the phone and answered it promptly. "Hey dad!"

The voice on the other end of the line laughed, "Hello son. How are you? Did you get the package yet?"

Ryou nodded before remembering that his dad couldn't see. "Yup! It's amazing! Thank you so much, I love it!" He gushed. "I think this is the best birthday present ever! Even better than Monster World!"

His dad let out a long whistle. "Well, if you think it's better than Monster World, then I'm impressed with myself. I should get you archaic artifacts more often!" He joked. "Anyway, work here is slow but steady, as usual. Mr. Wen found some clay fragments that look like they could be from some sort of ancient building last evening, but we haven't had much success since then. Such is the life of an archeologist. I-"

"The man who sold you this ring said that it had something to do with Duel Monsters?" Ryou interrupted without thinking. His dad paused before laughing.

"Well, yes, that's what he claimed. But it's obviously ancient, unlike the card game, so-"

"Did he say how? I've been trying to figure it out, but I don't know where to start."

"Ryou." His father gave an odd laugh. "That was probably a lie. Those merchants will say anything to get people to buy their things. Anyway, he just said they were related. Sorry." Ryou realized that his father was getting confused, so he changed the subject. He could find out by himself.

"Well, school's been going really well. I got that math test back, and I got an A, so I'm pretty happy with that! Other than that, nothing has really happened…" Ryou's dad laughed and replied with his congratulations.

The phone conversation stretched on unbearably long as Ryou kept trying to step out of the conversation, but his dad kept picking up the slack. Finally, Ryou sighed. "Sorry dad, I got to go. Homework." He said, interrupting his dad's story about one of his coworker's daughters.

"O-oh. Okay. Good bye Ryou! Same time next week?" He asked. "Yeah, yeah," Ryou replied. "love you." He hung up before his dad could reply.

His conversation with his dad did nothing to quench his curiosity. In fact, he was all the more curious. He hurried to the closest game shop and bought as many packs as he could with the money he brought. The cashier ringing him up smiled in recognition. "Hey, Ryou! You getting into Duel Monsters now? I thought you preferred TRPG's?" Ryou shrugged.

"It's hard to explain. I'm just interested in Duel Monsters right now." He handed the older teen his money, and she bagged up the packs. "Well, there's a game shop called the "Kame Game shop". It's about half an hour away, but it's practically a Mecca for Duel Monsters fans. They say the owner even has Exodia and the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The cashier sighed longingly, handing Ryou his bag. "If you ever want to check it out, take the Fukuhara line until you get to the Domino City stop. Then you can take a bus or a taxi."

Ryou nodded his thanks. "I have to go now. Thanks for the advice. I think I'll stop by there eventually."

He didn't even wait until he was home to rip open the packs and shuffle through them. Even when he ran face first into a lamp pole, he didn't bother to put the cards away. Nothing seemed familiar, he thought, but he was still strangely convinced that he was close to figuring things out. He just needed more cards. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he would go to the Kame Game store, and hopefully discover something.

 **A/N: Next chapter will have a cameo and some more exposition! Then the plot!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Was feeling particularly inspired by boredom today, so I actually wrote. Don't feel too spoiled. I'll probably forget the next chapter until some time next year... T.T**

Ryou's alarm clock sounded, jolting him out of a dreamless sleep. He slid out of bed and went about his morning routine. He was about to run out the door, but before leaving, he stopped. He felt his chest, debating whether or not he should wear the ring. He sighed and yanked it over his head, hurrying to school.

The bell rang as he slid into his seat, mind already so preoccupied with thoughts of the ring that he barely responded to his friends' greetings.

He found himself having trouble concentrating on his schoolwork as well as he doodled rough sketches of his ring on the corners of all his notes. "Ryou! Can you please provide the answer?" The teacher called, jerking Ryou out of his thoughts of the ring. Ryou snapped to attention, trying to remember what class he was in. History. Right. What was the question? He racked his brain, but he hadn't been paying attention. He bowed his head, blush creeping up his face. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

The teacher nodded. "Okay. Ayumu. How about you?" Ryou tried to melt into his seat. That was the first time he hadn't paid attention, and it felt terrible. Kaito nudged him.

"Hey, it's okay. At least you were awake." Kaito cocked his head towards where the teacher was yelling at Ayumu on the other side of the classroom. Ryou buried his head in his hands. "Besides, no one else is paying attention, either."

Ryou nodded slowly, forcing himself to put down his pencil and pay attention to what the teacher was saying. He often caught himself drifting off and had to snap himself back to reality. He grit his teeth, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was so unusual for him to have this much trouble concentrating during school. He released a breath and raised his hand.

"May I go to the bathroom, please?"

The teacher nodded once and continued lecturing while Ryou hurried to the bathroom. He rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead, trying to feel if he had a fever. He didn't feel too hot, but he could never tell when he did. With a sigh, he turned on the cold faucet and started splashing his face with the water that gushed out. He dried his face with his sleeve as he started walking back to his classroom. He rubbed the ring through the fabric of shirt, surprised by how cool it was against his bare chest. No. He had to concentrate. He took a detour to his shoe locker and stowed his ring there, carefully hiding it under his extra T-shirts and sheets of paper.

Without the ring distracting him, he could concentrate on his work, but it prickled on the corners of his mind, not wanting to be forgotten. Yeah. Like that was going to happen.

At the end of the school day, he hurried to the train station and boarded the Fukuhara line. The trip took about an hour away from the relative quiet of his city and towards a more urban setting as the train approached Domino City. A neutral female voice informed the passengers of the Domino City stop, and Ryou allowed himself to be taken out of the train with the flow. He looked around for some sort of public transportation that could take him to the Kame Game shop, but he found none. Great. Stuck in an unfamiliar city with no idea of where to go. _Well thought out plan, Ryou_. He chided himself.

He turned to a passing stranger. "Excuse me. Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you knew where the Kame Game shop is?" The man stared at him as if a third eye was growing from his forehead and shook his head. Ryou thanked him and asked the same question to a passing teenage boy who shrugged and shook his head.

"Hey!" He whirrled around as a hand tapped his shoulder. "Are you looking for the Kame Game shop?" A brunette girl around his age asked. Ryou nodded. "It's two blocks that way, take a right, then walk three more blocks. It will be on your right." She said. Ryou thanked her profusely and hurried off per her instructions. Exactly as she had said, Kame Game shop was on his right side, but if she hadn't told him that, he would have missed it. It was a small, unassuming shop that stood alone on a street corner. It honestly looked more like a hut than an actual game shop.

But once he stepped inside, his opinion took a one-eighty. Everything was painstakingly showcased and well-kept. An old man was behind the counter carefully dusting TRPG figurines. He glanced around and broke into a smile. "Hello, there! I don't recognize that uniform. Are you from around here?" Ryou shook his head.

"No. But a friend told me that this is a good place to find Duel Monsters stuff. Where would that be?" The man's eyes lit up. "A Duel Monsters fan? How long have you been playing?" He asked as he motioned for Ryou to follow him to a corner of his shop.

"Not long, I'm more into TRGP's, but I'm starting to get interested in Duel Monsters." Ryou replied polietly. "I have a deck, but I don't use it often." The old man nodded.

"Do you have a theme? I might be able to suggest certain packs that could help build your deck up." He asked, showing Ryou a large box full of thousands of Duel Monsters card packs. Ryou gave a low whistle, and the old man swelled visibly with pride. "We boast the largest Duel Monsters collection in an independent game store. Collecting Duel Monsters cards is a bit of a hobby of mine." The old man said with more than a not of pride in his voice. Ryou nodded.

"I have a sort of ghost-occult deck theme. I like the disgusting cards." Ryou laughed nervously.

The old man laughed heartily and snooped through the pile of car packs quickly, handing a handful to Ryou while he explained, "Those are actually very powerful card types, if used right. Here are a few packs to get you started. I also suggest that you expand and include Dark type monsters and spells in your deck, since Dark and Fiend types go together very well. These are some good starter packs, and then a few more advanced packs for when you reach the right level. Oh! I'll go get the box of rare cards and show you a few cards that could be invaluable to your deck!"

Ryou waited patiently with a couple dozen new card packs as the old man bustled back behind the counter, leaning down to grab a binder from underneath the counter. He brought it over to Ryou and shuffled through it, pulling a few cards out. "Oh, Dark Necrofear. She can be difficult to summon, but can almost guarantee victory when paired with this spell card I have around here somewhere…" He shuffled through the pages, eventually coming across the one that he was looking for. "Dark Sanctuary! You can summon this when Dark Necrofear is destroyed." He shuffled through the rest of the binder, pulling out several more cards and handing them to Ryou, who accepted them with thanks.

A half an hour later, Ryou and the old man had gone through most of the cards that the store had. Ryou left the Kame Game shop with considerably less money than he had when he had entered, but hopefully one of these cards could point him towards the origin of his mysterious ring. He hurried out of the store and turned round the corner, slamming headfirst into a blonde young man who was sopping wet. Ryou fell back, slamming his butt and back into the rough sidewalk concrete. The young man didn't even bother to apologize or explain as he jumped to his feet and rushed into the Kame Game shop. Ryou stuck his tongue out in the direction the man had ran as he got to his feet and brushed himself off.

The rude man quickly flew out of his mind as he arrived home and ripped open the card packs. He spent another evening shifting through piles of cards, trying in vain to piece anything- any symbols, background shapes, or colors to his ring or it's past. He rubbed his eyes, glancing at the clock. Almost midnight. Just one more card pack. He ripped it open, hissing as cards flew everywhere. He gathered them neatly into a pile and sorted through them.

He had just picked up the last card in the pack, Change of Heart, when the ring around his neck suddenly became searing hot and emitted a blinding light. Ryou yelled in surprise, but just as soon as the light and heat had come, they had vanished. He stared at the card in his hand and smiled. He had finally found the missing link.

Dozens of miles away, Yuugi Motou slid the last piece into his Millennium Puzzle.

 **A/N: Cameos by Anzu, Jou, and Grandpa Motou!**

 **Sorry this chapter is a little slow. I wanted to have another chapter before I brought out Yami Bakura, and**

 **And yes, I know the timing doesn't really work out between Jou giving the puzzle piece to Yuugi's grandpa and Yuugi completing the puzzle. I just like thinking that the cast of Yu-Gi-Oh interacted before they formally met. So if you want to complain, I cordially invite you to direct your complaints to some one who cares. ^.^**

 **Next chapter will have bullies and Yami Bakura to maybe murder people a little?**


	4. Chapter 3

"Yeah, it was a pretty cool episode! Tei wasn't being _controlled_ by Zector, he _was_ Zector! I totally didn't see that coming!" Gakuyuu motioned a "mind-blown" gesture with a rather impressive explosion sound.

"Uh-huh" Ryou nodded absentmindedly.

"Also, your dad called me and said that Martians abducted him and are asking you to give up tabletop RPG's in order to stop them. And to tell your uncle that his recipe for eating babies is under the bed, right behind his baby seal skin collection."

Ryou continued nodded absently before realizing what Gakuyuu was saying. "Wait, what?"

With a laugh, Gakuyuu waved his hand in front of Ryou's eyes. "You're a thousand miles away again." Ryou sighed, rubbing the back of his hand across his forehead.

"Sorry. It's been a weird night." He brushed his fingertips over the outline of the ring on his neck as he returned his hands to the table. "Is it my turn?"

Ayumu nodded. "But we could always skip it. It's not like we need our game master." He said with a wink.

Ryou laughed and rolled the dice. The others winced when they saw the result. "Wow. Sorry, guys, but Zorc kinda crushed you with that castle trick. Wanna try again?" He asked.

Shaking his head vigorously, Kaito got to his feet. "I have cram school 10 minutes ago. I should probably leave now." Gakuyuu nodded, "And I have to watch over my sister soon, so I should probably get going. Sorry." He added

Ryou nodded and started packing up the figurines. Ayumu started walking out the door. "Hey, aren't you gonna help me?" He begged.

"Hey, you said that you'd do it alone. I'm just helping you keep your promises. You're welcome." He closed the door with a slam and Ryou heard his footsteps down the hallway. He sighed and started packing each of the figures carefully in their foam cases and sliding them into the cabinet where they were stored. It was simple work, but tedious, as each tree, rock, and ruin had to be put in separately. And there were lots of trees, rocks and ruins.

He glanced up as the bell chimed six o' clock. He sighed. He still had half the pieces to put away and he had already been at it for an hour. So much for dinner on time tonight. Adjusting a crick in his neck, he heard a herd of footsteps move towards the door, and the school baseball team tromped past the open door. A kid glanced inside as he passed and nudged the guy next to him. "Look! A board game!" He snickered.

Ryou waved uncertainly. "Would you like to come in? I can show you how to play!"

A few jocks glanced at each other and shrugged. Ryou relaxed, then almost pounced on them in his excitement. "This is called Monster World, and it's what's called a TRPG, which is a tabletop roleplaying game. The objective is to defeat the Game Master. You level up and get cool bonuses, it's a really neat game!" He said with a smile.

One of the boys raised an eyebrow and picked up a wooden tree figurine between two fingers. "Huh. Did you make this one yourself?" He asked. Ryou nodded.

"I made most of the figures. This is actually my board. There are a few other kids who play as well, but they don't have any skill with making figures, so I usually-"

The boy snapped the tree in half. "Whoopsie. Looks like your figure was a little delicate, kinda like you." He said. The two other boys with him laughed.

Ryou's face reddened. "Hey! That took me a long time to make! Get out!" He tried shoving the kid through the door, but that had about as much effect as one of his figures toppling over. The kid laughed and shoved Ryou back. He tripped and landed roughly against the wall, banging his head into the wall. He swallowed a grunt of pain and rolled to his feet. "Stop. Get out of here before I call a teacher."

"Call a teacher? CALL a TEACHER? Hey, he thinks he's gonna call a _teacher_. Good luck with that." Without warning, the boy's fist swung around, connecting painfully with Ryou's solar plexus. He fell to the ground, head swimming. Before he could recover, the boy slammed his foot into Ryou's stomach before snapping up to his jaw. Ryou grunted in pain and fell back into darkness.

"Dude. That was kinda harsh. I mean, what did he do to you? Just 'cause coach kicked you from the team doesn't mean-" The boy's friend shut up at the look on his friend's face.

"He was asking for it."

"Oh, really?" The boy looked around to see Ryou getting to his feet. "When did that happen? Before I invited you in to play a friendly game with me or after? Oh, I forget. Just pull down a chair and we'll play." The boy looked at his friends. There was something slightly off about how the boy was acting: more confident, wilder, more dangerous. He laughed nervously and started to back away, but before he got out the door, it slammed shut and the room filled with inky smoke.  
"You lose."

 **A/N: Short chapter is short because reasons.**

 **But anyone catch the slight Yu-Gi-Oh ZeXal reference (post- episode 96)? It's in the beginning, but slightly spoiler-y.**

 **Next chapter: Ryou and Yami Bakura meet, but not on the best of terms.**


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Warning: Some OOC Yami Bakura, mainly because he doesn't know who or what he is. He will become the lovable $$hole we all know him to be eventually, just not yet!

For reference: Ryou's inner thoughts/talking to Yami Bakura are **bold**. Yami Bakura talking to Ryou is _italicized_.

Ryou opened his eyes slowly. He was standing up in the middle of a classroom, facing the window. He almost fell over from a sudden feeling of vertigo and steadied himself with the edge of the Monster World table. He turned around in surprise, suddenly remembering what had happened.

… Or maybe not.

The last memory he had was some upperclassman kicking him, but looking around, the upperclassman and his two friends were bent over the table, eyes glazed over and staring into space. Their figurines (which for some reason looked exactly like them) stood next to a rock formation, bright and glossy.

Ryou's heart pounded in his chest as he crept forward. Where they dead? Their eyes were open, but they didn't seem to be awake. He squeezed his eyes shut as he poked the boy nearest him. The boy rolled off the table and fell noisily to the ground. Ryou jumped, but the boy didn't flinch.

Panic crept up inside him as he started hyperventilating. This had to be a dream. It had to be. There was no way this had happened.

 _You seem upset._

Ryou whirled around wildly. "Who said that?" Oh, god. He was hallucinating. He had heard that mental illnesses like this typically struck around 18 years old, and he was already 15. Maybe they were starting early for him. He was seeing dead people and hearing voices.

 _Calm down. They're not dead._

Ryou clapped his hands over his head. "Be quiet! I'm sane!" Tears forced their way down his face as he fell to his knees and chanted softly, "I am sane. There are no voices. There are no dead bodies."

 _Geez. I told you. They're not dead. I'm just giving their souls a little vacation in their own figures. I'll put them back, I promise._

Redoubling his chanting, Ryou started sobbing and pulling at his hair, trying to calm down but not succeeding. This was just a hallucination. He would get up and turn around and see nothing there. The only voices that he would hear would be from people he could see. He would go to a psychiatrist and get fixed, and then soon this would soon be a long-forgotten memory.

With a great effort, Ryou slowed his breathing and stopped his tears. It was a hallucination. But it would be gone when he turned around.

It wasn't.

With a scream, Ryou threw himself at the ground and started sobbing, curling into a fetal position.

 _Wow. Sorry. I didn't know that this would upset you so much. Like, wow. Sorry. I can fix it, if that will make you feel better. And I suppose I could give myself a form if that will make it easier for you. That way, you'd be talking to a person you could see…_

"Stop! Just, stop! I don't want to get to know the voices in my head. I'd really just appreciate it if you just shut the hell up, thank you very much!"

Suddenly, he felt… hurt? Like he had just insulted himself.

 _That was rather rude. But from what it appears, my actions seemed to have upset you, so I suppose it's to be expected. Here._

Suddenly, Ryou heard a shifting sound behind him. He sat bolt upright and whirled around to watch the three boys stand up in bewilderment. One of them caught sight of Ryou on the ground yelled in surprise, grabbing another. "Get out! It's him!" The three boys' faces looked completely terrified as they nearly broke down the door in their desperation to escape.

Ryou watched in slight stupefaction. "What the **hell** is happening?" He whispered, running his hand through his hair.

 _They were hurting you. So I hurt them back. Well, I sealed their souls in inanimate objects, but that's neither here nor there. Are you okay? Your arm kinda hurt while I was using it._

Shaking his head, Ryou took a deep breath and stood up, running both hands through his hair, almost taking half his scalp out with it. "You _used_ my arm? What? Who…? No. I am _not_ going to talk to the voice in my head.

There was a laugh. _I'm not just a voice in your head. Look behind you._

Ryou obeyed unthinkingly and fell over with a shout at what he saw. A slightly translucent, floating mirror image of himself was staring down at him with a slight smile.

 _Yo._

Without a glance back, Ryou tore from the room, forgetting his backpack and his figurines in the process. His heard pounded in his throat as he slammed the door shut to his apartment and leaned against the door, trying to breathe slowly and calm himself down.

It didn't work.

He drew his knees up to his chest and started sobbing, rocking back and forth slightly. It was all too much. Why did this have to happen to him?

 _It's the Ring. My spirit was sealed inside it, for some reason. I'm connected to it._

Ryou didn't even bother acknowledging the hallucination's presence. Instead, he looked down at the lump under his uniform and gave a mirthless laugh. "Figures."

Without warning, he tore off the Ring and started slamming it against the floor and walls, eyes blurring with tears so much that he could barely see what he was doing.

 _Whoa, whoa! Hey. Calm down. Stop. Can you do that for me? Just stop. Stop, calm down, and then I'll go away. You can do whatever you want with the Ring afterwards. Just. Calm. Down._

The fight draining out of his system, Ryou dropped the Ring and fell to his knees, too exhausted to even start crying. "Just… Go away." He hiccupped. His ethereal mirror nodded once and dissolved into mist. He felt the Ring heat up slightly and then cool down just as quickly.

"Ryou? Are you okay? What's going on?" A loud knock nearly made him scream as he jumped a few inches into the air. One of his neighbors must have heard his ruckus and come to investigate. He wiped away his tears and neatened his shirt, hoping that it wasn't super obvious what he had been doing. He opened the door.

"Sorry Mrs. Tsukoma. It was the television. I didn't expect it to be so loud!" He forced a laugh that he hoped didn't sound too fake. "I promise I'll keep it down next time." He said, shutting the door before Mrs. Tsukoma could say a word. He waited until her footsteps had echoed down the hall before breathing a sigh of relief and sinking to the floor with a shaky breath.

He stared at the Ring. Even if this spirit _was_ a hallucination, it had enough decency to give Ryou his privacy. He grabbed it and traced its outline. "Please don't bother me today. I just want to go to bed and forget that all this happened, just for one night." He whispered.

 **I'm such a numbskull. I can't believe I'm talking to a hallucination** …

He set the Ring on his nightstand and slid under the covers. Miraculously, the second that his head hit the pillow, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The Spirit of the Ring looked down at keeper of his spirit. After all that the Spirit had done to the boy, he should get a nice long rest. "Rest well, little Landlord."

A/N: I realize Ryou did little more that cry and yell, but that's understandable. He's only fifteen, and he found out that he was seeing dead people and hearing voices. I always thought Yuugi took it surprisingly wel…

Next chapter: Ryou tries to figure out what Bakura is and tries to cure his "mental illness"


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Just to avoid confusion: Ryou is not actually having a mental breakdown. Bakura is real, Ryou just thinks he's going insane.

P.s. Digging real deep into my AP Psych class from two years ago… Plus some Google. Forgive inaccuracies, and tell me about them so I can improve!

It was pretty early for a Saturday, but Ryou felt too awake and refreshed to bother going back to sleep. So he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and hopped out, running a hand through his hair to neaten in out. He gave up halfway down because of the snarls, picking long strands of white hair from around his fingers, flinging them to the ground where he would eventually sweep them up. He slid on a T-shirt and jeans, turning to grab the Ring on his nightstand when he froze and thought better of his decision. He walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast. He turned to grab the peanut butter from the counter behind him when his hand went right through the voice. He gave a loud gasp and quickly withdrew his hand as if it had been burned.

The voice was watching him interestedly, a pensive look on his face. He seemed like he was about to ask a question, then stopped and hovered a few inches off the ground, just watching Ryou.

Ryou tried to ignore the voice, but practically felt the breath on the back of his neck. "Will you quit it?" He demanded. The voice looked taken aback.

 _What did I do this time?_

"Just go away. I don't want to be around you. So just go back to the Ring."

… _Okay. But eventually, you're going to have to get used to me._

 _"_ Not if my psychiatrist has anything to say about it. I'm going to make an appointment today."

 _You have a psychiatrist? Never mind that, it won't work._ _Nothing is wrong with you._ _I don't know how else to say it, but you'll eventually figure it out._

Ryou set the jar of peanut butter down calmly, trying to make his emotions echo his actions. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he reopened his eyes, the voice was gone. He was sane now. He had to act while he had his sanity. He pulled out his battered laptop and started searching for child psychiatrists near him. After a few hours of research, he had a session in five hours to help diagnose his mental problems.

He searched for his backpack before realizing that he had left it at school when his mental breakdown started. He swore and grabbed a plastic grocery bag and stuffed the Ring in it, knotting it closed, and throwing it in his messenger bag.

The five hours passed agonizingly slowly. He arrived an hour early to his appointment and spent the entire time wondering what was wrong with him, what treatments he would need, how it would affect him. Would he be the same? Would it even work? He had heard that a lot of people's hallucinations hadn't gone away, even after treatment. What if he was one of those people? How would it affect his day-to-day life? How would he-

 _Your anxiety is bothering me. Please stop._ The voice was hanging upside-down so that his face was even with Ryou's

Ryou almost let out a laugh but held it in with a great effort.

 _Wait. Where are we?_

He didn't answer. Talking to himself was okay when he was alone, but when he was sitting in a psychiatrist's waiting room with other people, it didn't seem like the best idea.

 _You made an appointment with a psychiatrist? After what I told you? I'm as real as you are! How many times do I have to tell you that?!_

For the first time, the voice seemed… disappointed? Angry? Ryou couldn't quite place it, but it worried him. His hallucinations were getting more complex, which could only mean that his disease was getting worse. He clenched his fists, crinkling his jeans in the process. He glanced at his watch. 5:03. Three minutes late. Ryou took deep breaths, trying to steady his breathing.

"Bakura Ryou? Dr. Takahashi will see you now." A female assistant ushered him forward through a door and down a hallway. "Don't be nervous!" She smiled. "He's really nice, and very skilled." She said kindly. She stopped in front of a plain sliding wooden door and opened it slowly. Ryou stepped through into an indoor zen garden. He stepped carefully along stepping stones to a comfortable-looking couch in the middle of the room. An older gentleman looked Ryou over with a genial smile.

"Hello, young one. Your name is Ryou Bakura, yes?" He had a pleasant voice, with a hint of an Osakan accent.

Ryou nodded once, nervously sitting down on the edge of the armchair.

The doctor smiled wide, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and his laugh lines etching deeper into his face. "Now, what seems to be the problem with you?"

Ryou opened his mouth but closed it again. Emotions started to well up inside him, and tears started pricking in the corners of his eyes. He gulped in a few deep breaths as Dr. Takahashi waited patiently for him to collect himself.

"I- I…. I don't know. I think I've been… well, I don't know. It's…" Ryou grit his teeth. "I think I'm schizophrenic. I've been seeing hallucinations and I've been hearing this voice in my head and seeing it, and I don't know what it is, but it won't go away, and I just want it out, but it won't shut up and-" Ryou started breathing heavier and heavier before Dr. Takahashi held up a hand.

"It's okay, lad. Just calm down. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Just to get a little backstory on you. Is your parent or guardian here today?"

"No." Ryou shook his head, "My uncle usually takes care of me while my dad is on his excavations, he's an archeologist, you see, but my uncle is on vacation with his wife. They won a trip to Hawaii, so this was the only time they could go, and I'm pretty self-reliant, so he doesn't need to check in with me.

Nodding slowly, Dr. Takahashi made a few notes on his clipboard. "Has your friend group changed recently? Started hanging out with different people?"

Thinking carefully, he answered, "Well, Kaito just transferred in a few months ago, but other than that, I've been friends with Ayumu since first grade, and Gakuyuu and I have been friends since either one of us could remember. So, no."

Another nod, another scribble on the notepad. "And how about grades? Have they been steady? Rising? Slipping?"

Ryou blushed, "Well, They've been rising a bit. I started a new way to study, and it's been really helping. But it's still not as good as I could be. I spend a lot of time gaming when I should be studying…"

"Ah. So you're very passionate about games? What kind? Video?" He asked while still scribbling notes in his clipboard.

Shaking his head, Ryou started explaining the mechanics of tabletop RPG's until he realized that he had been talking for ten straight minutes, and Dr. Takahashi had barely written anything in his clipboard. He pinked and shut up. "Sorry. I tend to get excited about TRPGs." He said sheepishly.

Dr. Takahashi assured him that it was quite alright and continued his odd line of questioning. Ryou didn't see how all the questions were connected. Dr. Takahashi asked him everything from how Ryou planned his day to if he ever suspected if anyone could read his mind. After about twenty minutes of questions, Dr. Takahashi took off his glasses and set them down.

"So, you say that you have had hallucinations? What kind?"

Carefully, Ryou recounted the strange incident in the classroom, noting that they seemed dead at first until the voice said that it would fix everything. Ever since then, the voice has had a physical form and followed him around. "At first, I thought it was connected to this amulet my father gave me, but that's silly, because it's just a chemical imbalance, right?

Dr. Takahashi smiled and nodded. "Is this voice here now?"

Glancing to his left and nodding, Ryou put his hand through the voice's midsection. "Right here."

"And does this voice have a name?"

Ryou shook his head. "I haven't given him one. I thought it might make me more attached to him. I don't want that."

"Has the voice given itself a name?"

Ryou shrugged. "I don't like talking to him."

 _No shit. It's like being mind mates with a brick wall. Except a brick wall has personality._

"But it hasn't told me to call it anything, so I just call it Koe."

Dr. Takahashi nodded and made a few more notes. "Well, I can prescribe a mild antipsychotic. You just seem to have mild schizophrenia, so anything more than that can have major side effects. I advise you to take this to your pharmacist and take as prescribed. I want you to come in the same time next week for a follow-up exam, but if things don't get better after four or five days, or they get worse at any time, please call, and I'll try to make some room for you." He said with a smile.

Ryou nodded, walking out of the room with a bow. "Thank you very much. I will be back next week."


End file.
